1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electronic systems that access and use information obtained from the Internet, and relates more particularly to a system and method for a user interface to input URL address data obtained from captured video frames while simultaneously viewing a television broadcast.
2. Description of the Background Art
A variety of information is readily available from various types of electronic networks, such as the Internet, which are typically accessible through a compatible computer device or other similar electronic system. With the increase in the use of the Internet, television producers are including related references to the Internet in their television broadcasts to provide viewers with information to access the relevant Internet locations.
A contemporary method for accessing information available on the Internet consists of a basic television set for displaying Internet information and a "set-top box" for accessing selected information from the Internet. The set-top box provides the accessed information to the corresponding television set for display. A set-top box is typically a relatively small and economical device that is located near the television set to serve as an efficient interface with the Internet in consumer home-use applications.
Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a set-top box system 112 is shown in which the user controls access to Internet data pages by the use of a remote control 124 and views the data pages on the television (TV) 122. In the preferred embodiment, the data pages are hypertext pages (web pages) retrieved from the Internet 110. Set-top box 114 connects to the Internet 110 via a communication line 118. When the system user manipulates remote control 124 to access a particular Internet page on a particular server, set-top box 114 converts the user input into an address called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The URL causes the specified remote server to respond and transmit the specified Internet page (web page) via the Internet 110 to set-top box 114. Set-top box 114 then converts this digital data into an analog format suitable for display on the attached TV screen. The selected Internet pages may contain a variety of textual and graphics information in various appropriate formats.
After accessing the selected Internet pages, set-top box 114 then provides the accessed pages to television 122 via line 120 for display to system viewers. Remote control 124 is preferably a wireless device that includes an infrared transmitter unit by which a system user may input various types of information via transmission path 126 to control the operation of set-top box 114 and television 122. In the FIG. 1 embodiment, remote control 124 is typically a relatively simple input device that features only a limited number of input keys to accommodate normal consumer home-use applications.
However, viewing and manipulating the stored pages of Internet information using system 112 of FIG. 1 is a relatively laborious and cumbersome process. During the TV broadcast, if the system user wishes to retrieve some information concerning the TV broadcast (for example, the background of a particular actor or the statistics of an athlete), the system user must record the particular URL address displayed on the screen. When a URL address is displayed on the television viewing screen, the user must search for a means to record the URL address and accurately record the address. The user may inaccurately record the URL address or may not record the entire address before the television viewing screen changes and no longer displays the address. In either case, the user is unable to retrieve the desired information. In addition, the user must either interrupt his or her viewing of the TV broadcast to perform an Internet search or the system user must wait until a convenient break in the TV broadcast to perform the Internet search.
The ability to access the Internet while simultaneously watching a television program would provide a more efficient and effective method for utilizing Internet information. Thus, for the foregoing reasons, an improved system and method are needed for a user interface to enter the URL address data obtained from captured video frames without interrupting viewing of the television programming.